Ex-reality TV star nominated to serve as NYC elections board commissioner
Staten Island Democrats have nominated a risqué, wise-cracking lawyer and ex-reality TV star to serve as commissioner on the city Board of Elections.
Michele Sileo — who starred in “Staten Island Law,” which briefly aired on the Oprah Winfrey Network in 2013 — also made headlines in 2016 when her NYPD officer husband James Grant was engulfed in a corruption scandal.
The Staten Island Democratic Party leadership and the borough’s North Shore Councilwoman Kamillah Hanks agreed to nominate the 50-year-old Sileo, ending an internal party dispute.
Party leaders previously recommended former Councilwoman Debi Rose, Hanks’ predecessor, to the Democratic elections commissioner post.
But Hanks, who had feuded with Rose, blocked her nomination, with the Council’s blessing.
“I selected Michele Sileo because she is a smart and accomplished attorney in her own right,” Hanks told The Post, adding she was “pleased” the Staten Island Democratic party accepted Sileo’s nomination.
“She has the right temperament and skill set to do the job, and will be an excellent commissioner for the Board of Elections. I look forward to shepherding her application through the City Council process,” Hanks said.
Sileo — whose husband, since-retired NYPD deputy inspector James Grant was indicted but later acquitted of bribery charges — once made wisecracks on a legal tutoring website that made her sound part-gangster, part-dominatrix.
“Michele is a fat, hairy, bald man with a filthy mouth and a bad attitude,” her profile on the site for Lawyer Up declared.
“In 2002, Michele gave up the lipstick ghetto … to bring her unique blend of whip-cracking and therapy to law students nationwide,” it added.
Sileo, who now lectures at the online Empire State University, defended her racy remarks during her reality TV days as made in the name of entertainment, and emphasized her legal credentials to serve on the elections board .
“Working with Oprah Winfrey in 2012 was a huge once in a lifetime opportunity! And yes, that was my persona at the time; we wanted to make law fun and approachable. No regrets,” Sileo said Sunday.
“Practicing law is my passion, and my background speaks volumes. I have been practicing law for twenty years. I am a public defender, a part time professor at SUNY, and a co-author of two study guides for first year law students,” she added.
“This appointment will give me the ability to contribute to the political process in this extremely important role that facilitates free and fair elections,” Sileo said. “I am humbled that the Staten Island Democratic Party executive committee voted unanimously to support the Council Member’s recommendation.”
Sileo’s husband, Grant, was charged with taking bribes in the form of a Las Vegas hotel room and a prostitute from two businessmen who were cronies of then-Mayor Bill de Blasio.
Sileo was supposed to receive ill-gotten diamonds as part of the alleged bribery scheme.
Grant was acquitted in a 2019 trial and retired from the department, but re-emerged as a private investigator and a real estate agent.
Jurors found Grant’s co-defendant Jeremy Reichberg, a fund-raiser for De Blasio, guilty of conspiracy to commit honest services fraud and bribery.
